EASTON – Brian Edlund had a broken pelvis and flames were closing in on him after his car had crashed into a tree on Summer Street.

That’s when Easton police officer Charles Hopkins joined other bystanders and pulled Edlund to safety, dislodging him from the fiery wreck and dragging him to safety. Two years later, Edlund remains thankful.

“A lot of people say I am very blessed,” said Edlund, 53, on Monday.

On Saturday, the officer who helped save Edlund died on duty ay age 41. Easton police Lt. Gary Sullivan. Sullivan would provide no other details, except to say Hopkins’ death left him “with a heavy heart.”

“Officer Hopkins was a dedicated veteran of the Easton Police Department for more than 13 years,” Sullivan said. “More importantly, Charlie was a devoted husband and father of three children.”

Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the Bristol County district attorney’s office, said Hopkins died at home while on duty. He said the death will not be investigated.

Easton Fire Chief Kevin Partridge remembered Hopkins as a very professional and quiet person.

“He was always there to help and it’s all very sad. We feel for our brother police officers,” Partridge said.

Easton Police Chief Allen Krajcik could not be reached for comment.

In 2012, Krajcik said at the time that Hopkins along with others, risked his life to save Edlund.

“These gentlemen, without any regard for their own safety, went out and clearly saved that man’s life,” Krajcik said at the time.

Several public safety officers have died within the last year. On Tuesday, a funeral will be held for Plymouth police officer Gregory Maloney, 44, who was killed in a motorcycle crash last week.

Boston fire Lt. Edward Walsh, 43, and Boston firefighter Michael Kennedy, 33, died on March 26 in a fire in the Back Bay.

State trooper Gregory Jasinskas, 40, of West Bridgewater, committed suicide last July, and West Bridgewater police officer Sgt. Gregory Ames was found dead in his Bridgewater home last June.

The unexpected death of an emergency responder is felt by an entire department said Mitch Librett, a criminal justice professor at Bridgewater State University, who worked as a New York police officer for 23 years.

“It has a tremendous impact on the well-being of any organization,” he said. “And in a small organization it is magnified exponentially. It’s a terrible thing.”